Liver Delivery

I'm beginning to think the most important organ in weight loss is your liver. It's not really surprising that it took so long for me to figure it out. Let's face it, if you are not a doctor or nurse (or thought about being one), how many of us really know all the things in which the liver plays a role?

Well not only is it a lot, most of them are directly connected to our weight and, therefor, weight loss. There are far too many of them, so I'm going to try to cover this over the next few post rather than in one very LONG post. I hope to convince you (and me, for that matter) that taking care of your liver (even doing somethings to help it out!) is of vital importance if you want to lose weight and stay healthy!

The first thing we need to do is understand why it is true. So, we need to develop a better understanding of what it is that the liver does.

Your liver performs a lot of different essential functions for your body including: protein synthesis, detoxification, production of digestive chemicals and glycogen storage. Most important, in terms of weight loss, it plays a major role in metabolism. The two large blood vessels that are connected to the liver (portal vein and hepatic artery) divide into capillaries and ultimately connect to the lobules of the liver. And here's the part that matters when you are trying to loose weight – those lobules are made up of millions of tiny little hepatic cells...and those hepatic cells are massive metabolizers!

Now among the liver's other jobs is pumping metabolized fats out of the body – that's right, it's BOTH a fat burning and fat pumping organ – NICE! Here's the thing though, if you aren't doing your part to help it function at it's best, then your liver doesn't pump all the fats out, many of them are recirculated...which contributes to being overweight.

On top of all that, if the liver is damaged by toxins (busy cleaning them up) or clogged up with a lot of waste, it is not able to remove the fat that circulates in your bloodstream and ultimately that fat will collect as fatty deposits on organs (visceral fat) and under the sin (subcutaneous fat).

Bottom line: if you want your liver to deliver on all of it's vital functions; if you want to maintain a healthy body and weight – keeping your liver happy is vitally important. So, in the next few posts, I'll look at some of the things we can do to help it out a bit.

Lean Not Light or Weights not Weight

In my last post, Give Me Some Skin, I said I'd go into some more detail about what you can do to reduce your body fat percentage.

The good news is that you already know all of the answers...the bad new is that, really, you already know all of the answers. If you have been reading this blog from the beginning, you have the foundation for loosing body fat. Yes, this is a weight loss blog, but my approach to weight loss isn't to make the scales give you a lower reading. If it were, I wouldn't have allowed myself to go about 10 days with no weight loss what-so-ever. I could have easily lost weight during that time by encouraging the loss of muscle. Instead, I spent the middle of those 10 days, watching my weight increase by 4 pounds – and I continued to lift weights KNOWING that it might increase my weight for the short term. Why?

Because I trusted my system, a system that is actually more interested in a healthy body than a low weight body. A health body is one that has an appropriate body fat percentage. The interesting thing is that when you have the right body fat percentage – you tend to be an appropriate weight for your ages, sex and height.

Much like in my second article, Kick It Up A Notch (or 2 or 3), where I said the most important thing about losing weight isn't calories, or protein, or exercise but rather metabolism - the goal for losing weight isn't to get the scale to read the number for which you are looking; it's to get your body fat to an appropriate level – everything else you want (including no loose skin) comes with it.

So, my personal system isn't so much a “weight loss” system as it is a “fat loss” system. That's why, in post after post, I talk about what good fat burners muscles are. Changing your diet alone will not help you get rid of loose skin (fat loss); it may help you lose weight, but as we know now – the two are not the same.

For continued fat loss you have to build muscle. That also means that eating too low a calorie diet, while possibly helping you lose weight, is not going to help you lose loose skin (you have no IDEA how hard I worked to use those two words next to each other – English major in me I'm afraid...). When you deprive your body of the appropriate amount of calories it goes into starvation mode, saving up the long term energy sources (fat) and burning of the quick sources (muscle). So, the first thing is to eat enough.

The next thing to do is don't eat too much – because you want to build muscle, not fat.

Then, begin understanding your metabolism – that's your best tool for burning fat (as long as you are not eating too little). One of the keys of ramping up your metabolism is building muscle. And the best way to build muscle is exercise.

So, like with everything else in weight loss, there is no magic pill (and don't believe the marketers that try to tell you otherwise). It takes work and dedication. It takes exercise and just the right amount of calories …. and enough patience to trust that over time the system will work.

And that is a great lead into my latest news. Since my last check in where I had lost 3 lbs after going 10 days with no weight loss, I have lost another 4 lbs! W00t! That's 7 lbs so far this week!

Keep at it and let me hear from you!

Get Wet

You, my friend, are a bunch of water. A bunch. As a matter of fact, your body is PRIMARILY water. That's right - humans, when born, are about 73% water. That changes as we grow up, but we still remain primarily comprised of good ol' H2O (Women about 55% and men 60%). Also, keep in mind that blood is mostly water which means it plays a big roll in transporting oxygen to your organs, which as we know, is very important in enzyme biosythesis which plays an important roll in weight loss because of it's roll in metabolism. Water also makes up 75% of your brain. (Insert your own dehydrated joke here).

One of the important things that that means, when it come to weight loss, is that (being made of water) our organs and various bodily systems need water to function well. Being well hydrated, much like a machine being well lubricated, means our bodies will be able to operate at their top efficiency (all other things help constant).

Why does that matter to weight loss? A couple of reasons actually, but one primary reason. People who have been with the blog from the beginning won't be surprised to hear that it is related to...(wait for it, wait for it) metabolism! It's actually very straight forward logic here (none of that science\weight loss\geek stuff needed). Part of our metabolism is defined by how much energy our bodies are using. The more systems that are working away, the more energy you use. If you are dehydrated your systems will start working at a lower efficiency in relation to how much water is available. So, being well hydrated all the time means you are giving your body one of it's most important tools in working at maximum efficiency and thus keeping you metabolism running well also!

How much? Well, between one and seven liters a day! It actually varies between people depending on physical activity, humidity, etc. The good news is a good 20% of that comes just from the foods you eat. The other good news is that it is perfectly fine to get the rest of it from sources other than straight up water...with two exceptions: non-diet sodas and alcohol. Both of them have a lot of sugars (and calories) which is just going to get in the way of getting the aqua that you need. As a matter of fact, when it come to alcohol, for every drink you have it should be matched by an equal amount of water (and that's over and above the amount you would normally need for a healthy and happy system). For that matter, my tip about keeping a little caffeine in your system also means you need a little more water because caffeine (as I mentioned) is a natural diuretic.

You can go a week without food (bad idea – yes even on a diet – ok, ok more on that later), but not water. As a matter of fact, even a small deficiency (say 2%) will leave you feeling tired. Which means less activity (probably less exercise) and that means lower metabolism...well, it's not a good idea.

There are lots of other reasons to drink enough water including: muscles require more water, digestion works better with it, it tends to mask the body's huger response, and the list could go on. The bottom line is – DRINK UP. Just don't way over do it. In general your kidneys (if they are in good working condition) are going to take care of the extra, but you can have too much which can lead to water intoxication and hyponatremia. Google it if you'd like – you don't want to go there.

One last related note - DO NOT drink from plastic bottles that contain BPA. How do you know if it does? If it is #7 plastic (most Nalgene type bottles) it probably has it. One other related note – so do most canned foods. Some scientist believe BPA present heath risks.

I'm looking for weight loss topics you'd like to know about. So, let me hear from you.

Oh - and I finally lost that 4 lbs I had put on last week (probably from the muscles gain) and started back down hill - another pound lost!

Keep at it – you can do this!

Last Call For Alcohol

I've got good new and I've got bad news. Everybody has heard about the infamous “beer belly.” The basic idea is that alcohol calories get turned to fat and goes right to your gut! Well, here's the good news, that simply is not true, nor does it get turned to fat a deposited anywhere else (at least not in substantial quantities). Only a very small percentage of the calories from alcoholic drinks are actually converted into that kind of fat! Great news, right? Well...not exactly.

While the calories aren't converted to fat, adult beverages have a really devastating affect on your body's ability to burn fat. Here's the geek-lite of what happens. Your body converts a tiny bit of the calories into fat. It pushes the rest of it on to the liver (cheers!) and the liver, using alcohol dehydrogenase (a very useful little enzyme), converts it into acetate (specifically into acetic acid, then acetate). What's acetate? Well, it's basically a fat and it gets delivered directly to your bloodstream.

At this point you may be saying, I thought you said alcohol mostly was converted into fat? But that's not what I said. I said it wasn't converted to the kind of fat that gets deposited on your belly or other places. It does get converted into acetate (a kind of fat) and delivered directly to the bloodstream. The acetate in your blood stream then becomes your body's main source of fuel. Not needing the stored fat for fuel, your body shuts down most of the system that handles that function (research suggest that fat metabolism can drop as much as 73%). The problem then is, it's not like a light switch, once it is off it takes it a while to get fired back up.

So, double damage. You loose a few hours of fat reduction while the alcohol is in your system and then you loose the hours it takes to get the system fired back up! Worse yet, try a few drinks after dinner, then just as the alcohol is working it's way out of your system, go to bed and become as physically dormant as you ever get. You could lose almost half a day's worth of fat burning!

And it's worse than that. Alcohol makes you hungry. A number of studies have show that people consuming alcohol are much more likely to increase their calorie intake. Worse yet, remember those fantastic fat burners? Some people call them muscles. Alcohol actually contributes to breaking them down. It increases a hormone called cortisol which is particularly good at taking out muscles and it decreases the production of testosterone which, of course, helps build muscles. Another double whammy!

So, am I saying we should all be on the wagon? No. Not at all. There is some evidence suggesting that a small amount of alcohol (and I mean small – like 150 calories total), will slightly increase your ability to lose weight. How much is 150? 1 beer - 5ish oz. of wine - and mixed drinks are all over the board. Something simple like a gin and tonic or a diet coke and whiskey, you can pretty much just count on one.

I'm looking for weight loss topics you'd like to know about. So, let me hear from you.

Keep at it – you can do this!

Buzz! Buzz!

When I diet, I get my caffeine buzz on. All-the-while, the debate on whether I should be doing this rages on. There are those who believe that a lot of overweight people are insulin resistant and therefor shouldn't use caffeine because it causes you to gain weight (there's some real geeky biology stuff we could go into right here to explain it, but let's just skip it this time...you trust me, right)? The funny thing is most diet pills CONTAIN caffeine, so what's going on here?

Well, my thoughts are that there may be those who are overweight and insulin resistant (it would be unusual to be insulin resistant and not be at least a little overweight) and they shouldn't use caffeine, but there must be a lot more of us who aren't or those manufactures wouldn't be putting it in their products (it's one thing to put stuff in there that doesn't really work, but to use something that might make your clients GAIN weight...not happening. They want your money. Greed is a powerful motivator).

I personally think it is very beneficial to add caffeine to your diet when loosing weight, as long as you aren't ACTUALY insulin resistant. Think about it this way. When you cut calories out of your diet, you are essentially cutting back on the fuel you offer your body. Not only that, when you are doing it to loose weight, you are cutting your calories back below the fuel level your body needs on a daily bases. That's part of why it is so easy to get tired when you are dieting. Well, if there is one thing that can give you pretty instant energy – it's caffeine (three cheers!). On a side note: this also makes it a good choice just before a workout!

Not only that, studies show that it does increase your metabolism – more specifically there is some speculation that it increases thermogenesis, which is one of the ways your body burns up fuel (food). Add to it the fact that caffeine is a natural diuretic...so, well – let's just leave it at that – 'kay?

So, I try to start a little caffeine flowing in the morning and keep a little (not tons) in my system all day long. As a part of my larger plan, it seems to work really well. Plus...I really like caffeine, so it is a win-win!

One last thought - if you are a person who takes to stress easily, keep in mind that caffeine can heighten the experience of stress and anxiety. Study after study have shown that being stressed or anxious frequently are causes of weight gain. So, think about it carefully before you decide to get your caffeine buzz on!

I'm holding steady on the weight loss today. No gains, no losses.

Keep at it – you can do this! And let me hear from you.

¡Muy Caliente!

Some like it hot. I like it hotter. That's right. Mo' hotta', mo' betta'. And it pays off when you are dieting too!

Various studies have arrived at different percentages of increase to your metabolic rate, but one thing is for certain – spicy foods do increase it! Foods/spices that have been tested include: red chili, black pepper, ginger, cumin, capsaicin, and turmeric. Capsaicin is the part of the chili pepper that makes it nice and hot and it seems to be able to play a significant role in weight loss. And while it is the biggest player in weight loss, keep in mind that some studies showed the best way to maximize the weight loss benefits of spicy food is to mix them.

After taking capsaicin, studies have shown increases in metabolism ranging from 8 percent to 50 percent, with the increase lasting anywhere from a short period of time to 3 hours. Even if it is only 8 percent, keep in mind that we are working on the perfect storm here. We aren't looking for the one magic weight loss bullet (it doesn't exist). What we are looking for is more of a buckshot approach – a whole bunch of little tweaks that add up to reaching our target weight!

Some of the research also indicated that people who lost weight by including spicy foods (particularly those with capsaicin in them), were more likely to maintain a healthy weight after reaching their target weight. So, even if you don't buy into the fact that hot foods make your metabolism burn hotter, it's worth adding them in to your diet just for the post-loss upside! If you need another reason, a study from Canada (lots of good food studies come out of Canada – seriously) showed that consuming hot food (in the study it was hot sauce) before the meal, reduced the amount of calories the participants chose to have during the meal.

The bottom line is spicy foods make it easier for your body to burn fat, they encourage you to eat less and they help you keep it off after you've lost it! What's not to like?

Two things to keep in mind though, spicy foods do not mix with ulcers or heartburn. So, if you suffer from either, stay away from them. Also, if you get hold of something that is just way too hot for you to handle, hit the milk to cool yourself down.

So, crank up the heat and tell your fat, “Burn baby, burn.”

Keep at it – you can do this! And let me hear from you.

A Litle Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

At first, today's supplement suggestion won't seem like an aid for weight loss as much as just a good idea. After all, those of us trying to loose weight tend to modify our diet. Almost by definition, we intentionally under nourish our bodies in order to lose weight. So, taking a multi-vitamin just seems like a good idea, if for no other reason than to replace some of the vitamins and minerals we have cut out of our diet when we cut calories. And it is a good idea, but it actually has weight loss benefits as well.

A study conducted over the course of 10 years with more than 15,000 participants found that participants taking multivitamins overall had more weight lost than those not taking it. To me, this simply means a healthy body is more capable of losing weight than a less healthy one. Not really all that surprising is it?

Of course, I like supplements that have more than one advantage. Other benefits of multi-vitamins include: aid in digestion, give energy (burn more fat!), help brain function, increase immune resistance, and slows the signs of aging (if I didn't have your attention before, I bet I do now!).

Don't take a “megadose” you don't need it and too much can cause problems...like kidney stones. So read the label - you want 100% or less of most of the ingredients. Also keep in mind, if you are using other dietary aids like protein bars during the day, a lot of them have vitamins as well. On an average day, I probably approach 200-300% of daily recommended allowance and I've never had a bad side effect.

Also, if this is the only source of added vitamins in your diet (no other dietary aids with vitamins) don't take a tablet. They are harder for your body to break down. Take gel caps or liquids instead.

Now – I think my multivitamin is kicking in... I feel like a bike ride. Let's go!

Keep at it – you can do this! And let me hear from you.

This Ain't No Tea Party

Tea is great for weight loss. I'm not talking Tea Party tea here (that stuff is full of sugar and usually comes with a side of crispy, buttery, sugary, flaky tea biscuits). The tea we are talking about is Green Tea and while you can drink it if you want, I'd suggest taking it in pill form (without the side of cookies).

Much like some of my other favorite supplements, there are lots of benefits associated with taking green tea. You won't be surprised that my favorite is - it speeds up metabolism! (Score). That's right, a number of studies showed that people talking green tea had measurable increases in the body's themogenesis (their metabolic rate). It also seems to help regulate (slow down, reduce) the amount of body fat we store (Score, again!).

It has been associated with lots of different benefits. It contains caffeine and, while some will argue the point, caffeine gives you energy and is a pretty decent fat burner (and like so often, there will be more on that in a latter article...is anyone keeping a tally on all these “later article” subjects?). It also seems to reduce how many of the carbs you eat that are turned into fat (reducing fatty acid synthesis can lead to remarkable weight loss). And those are just the diet related benefits.

Other up sides include: helps prevent cardiovascular disease, lowers cholesterol (improving the good HDL), reduces the risk of esophageal cancer, may help reduce pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis, and it helps regulate insulin.

As far as I'm concerned, this is another of those maybe-might-kinda work supplements that has enough research backing it up that it is simply worth taking.

Good news for me - back on track. Today's weigh in : 261- lost two more pounds for a total of 14 so far.

Keep at it – you can do this! And let me hear from you.

Gaining to Lose

This one's for those who don't mind building a little muscle. It is also only for those who have a long range perspective on weight loss.

The next supplement I want to talk about is Creatine. Our kidneys, livers and pancreas naturally produce it. It's purpose is to help our bodies store up extra phosphates – and our bodies use those when we need energy (particularly in anaerobic exercise). So, having plenty of Creatine in your system will do a number of things for you.

As you exercise, your body will use up the naturally store Creatine. Having a little extra on board means getting to stay at those muscle building exercises longer...which means building more muscle (those FANTASTIC fat burners).

It also helps in the recovery period, so you can both grow muscle faster and regenerate those wonderful little enzymes that help breakdown fat, carbs and protein (yea, for increased metabolism!).

There are also other health benefits in taking Creatine. Research in two different Universities found that taking Creatine raised people's IQ scores – yes, seriously. It also has benefits in fighting cancer and slows the progression of Parkinson's.

If you are taking it for weight LOSS purposes, take it in pill form. Most of the powders out there, which are used to mix fruity drinks of Creatine, are packed full of sugars. You don't want that.

How much? Take 5-15 grams per day (depending on how hard you are working out). The one side effect that some people have is the feeling of bloating in the stomach. If you experience this side effect just reduce the amount you take until it goes away.

So, it is obvious why I started off saying this one was for those who don't mind building a little muscle, but why did I say it is for people with a long range perspective of weight loss? Well, because if you are working out, it really is good at helping grow your muscles fast. Muscle weighs more than fat. At first you are likely to GAIN weight – arrgh. But over the long term, every pound of muscle you gain will burn an extra 30 calories per hour AT REST. That's right, an extra 1 ½ pounds a week lost while you do nothing!

I started taking Creating about 5 days ago. I have lost no weight sense then, but I have lost about an inch around my waist and I can see a noticeable difference in my arm and chest. So, if you are willing to take a short term hit (in terms of weight loss), Creatine is the way to go for long term gains...um, loss!

You Could Eat Tons of Liver..Or...

Other than “they are things I really don't want to eat,” what do liver, kidneys, cauliflower and soy flour have in common? They are places where Biotin occurs naturally. Why should you care? I'm so glad you asked...

If you've been reading this blog from the beginning (what seems like a very long 7 days ago), you probably already have a very good guess at the fist benefit of Biotin – it plays a very important role in energy metabolism. Among other things it helps get rid of carbon dioxide, metabolizes amino acids, helps break down fat,carbs and protein, and helps produce certain enzymes (and again, if you've been keeping up with the blog, you know how important it is to rebuild enzymes).

But if the vanity of being thinner isn't enough motivation for you – how about the vanity of hair loss (or more precisely, preventing it). It turns out that one of the side effects of rapid weight loss is hair loss (yes, the universe can be wickedly cruel at times). The good news is, one of the main benefits of Biotin (which while sometimes called Vitamin H is actually part of the B-complex family) is the prevention of hair loss.

Other benefits of Biotin include: keeping nails in good condition, improved skin condition, aids in the growth and repair of muscle tissue (remember muscles are FANTASTIC fat burners), helps reduce cholesterol, helps maintain proper sugar levels and it has been shown to be beneficial to treating a number of diseases including Parkinsons, Rett syndrome, Crohn's desease and a number of others.

A reasonable question to ask is, “Don't I get enough Biotin in a typical diet?” The answer is a definitive – maybe...but probably not. Let's just start with the fact that you are on a diet. You are already staying below the amount of intake that is required to maintain heath. You are trying to breakdown unwanted parts and get rid of them. It is likely that in you reduced caloric intake you are also reducing a number of essential vitamins and minerals. Add to that the fact that freezing foods which naturally carry Biotin decreases their level of Biotin...and cooking them does the same. Now I'm just guessing here, but I'm betting that most of us are not on the Raw Food Diet.

Oh, and have you already forgotten?... Some of the main sources for it are liver, kidneys, cauliflower and soy flour - belckt!! Other things that negatively effect the level of Biotin in your system are egg whites (a good source of the much needed protein while on a diet), packaged foods, fast food...well, there's a lot of reasons why you probably aren't getting enough.

So, my second supplement that I strongly recommend is Biotin. 5 milligrams once a day should do the trick.

I'll be weighing in tomorrow and we will talk about another helpful supplement.

Fighting Fire With Fire (or Fat with Fat)

Now we venture into the dark side of weight loss. No, not weight loss pills – this is a respectable blog, don't go dragging the modern version of snake oil salesmen into this. Please.

The dark side of which I speak is slightly more respectable than that – natural supplements. Why do I call them the dark side? Well, because they may or may not actually do you any good. I put a lot of study into this a little over a year ago and came up with a list of the ones that I thought had the most potential to help with weight loss – not cause weight loss but help. The way I see it, they may help the littlest bit by themselves (um, probably), but as a part of a larger system and understanding of weight loss they combine to make a perfect storm.

So, for the next several post, I'll be taking the supplements one at a time and briefly talking about the benefits they might have (did I mention that whether the whole supplement thing works is a bit controversial?).

But first, lest you think I used a dartboard in picking the ones I use, let's very briefly look at my criteria for eliminating or picking supplements. It is very simple actually. First, I only read studies from universities with respectable medical programs (this included universities from around the world). Second, I then only considered studies that either included a double blind, a placebo, or a control – or some combination thereof. Finally, if the study was funded by, supported by, or requested by an outside organization or company, I threw it out.

So, let's get on with this. My single favorite supplement (the one I most believe probably has some outside chance of maybe working – was I non-committal enough there?) is CLA or Conjugulated Linoleic Acid (sounds yummy, doesn't it?). Well, it gets better – it's a fat! Yep, taking fat to lose fat. Go figure.

It is a fatty acid the occurs naturally in dairy products and red meats. Unfortunately, as we Americans have reduced our intake of beef and dairy (a good thing), we have also reduce our intake of CLA (a bad thing, because it has a number of weight loss advantages). Also, because of the way we now raise cattle, the CLA levels in what we buy have been lowered by 65%.

A number of very good studies have found that CLA helps you burn more body fat (particularly tummy or visceral fat – more on types of fat in a latter post) and it increases lean body mass. Here's the cool thing – it even worked for people who led fairly sedentary life styles! (OK, it didn't help them a lot – but it WAS measurable!). That means if you are exercising (both aerobic and anaerobic) CLA seems to increase the benefits of doing so.

Other benefits include, enhancing the immune system, helping maintain blood glucose and insulin levels (related to both weight loss and energy levels), helping lower cholesterol, may help fight off cancer, increasing metabolic rate (SCORE!), and it can even reduce food allergies (seriously, I can now eat raw celery).

So, I say take it. How much? Most studies showed no – and I mean NO – benefits until you reached about 3.5 grams per day. Most pills come in 1000 milligrams, so I recommend taking 4 a day (2 in the morning 2 in the afternoon), which is actually what is recommended on the side of most bottles as well.

Week one - 12lbs. lost. I wish I could keep that pace up! But that just isn't realistc - still, each pound (even a week at a time) is worth! Let me hear from you!

Dumbells - Yeah, I'm Talking To You

Today it is time to start thinking about exercise. (Did you hear that, I think it was a collective groan). For most of us the thought of exercise is not appealing – at all - in any form – what-so-ever. So, for me at least, it makes sense to understand why you are doing it and to understand what kinds are the most effective. I don't know about you, but if I'm going to exercise, I want to be sure I'm getting everything out of it that I can. I'd be less than pleased to find out I was having no, negative or very little impact on my weight loss because of how I was exercising.

As I mentioned yesterday, we are going to consider two basic types of exercise: aerobic and anaerobic. The difference between the two has to do with the amount of oxygen being delivered to your muscles (of particular concern are the enzymes we talked about yesterday). Just as their name's suggest, aerobic means enough air and anaerobic mean not enough.

Now, right off the top, thinking about yesterday's post, you may say, “OK, great, just tell me what exercises are anaerobic and I'll avoid them like the plague.” After all, who wants the pain that can sometimes go with it and, as we learned yesterday, who wants to be breaking down all those wonderful enzymes that eat carbohydrate, fat, and protein without also building the enzymes back up? Seems counter productive.

Well, don't jump so fast. While those somewhat negative qualities of anaerobic exercise are true, anaerobic exercise (weight lifting, sprinting) also has some big (and I mean BIG) up sides. For starters, it burns more calories than aerobic exercise (at least short-term). It also builds muscles and like I said yesterday, muscles are FANTASTIC fat burners. More muscles will also help you do aerobic exercise for longer periods of time thus enable you to burn more calories for even longer periods of time. It also gets the old metabolism cranking and it stays running at elevated levels for longer than anything else will do for you.

Aerobic exercise (running, swimming, biking, tennis) allows you to burn calories constantly over a longer period of time and if you are doing it at the right level your body will be breaking down fat, carbs and proteins and at the same time rebuilding enzymes (enzyme biosynthesis), so you can keep burning them away!

What does all this mean? Well, do them both. Early in my weight loss, I like to alternate the two. One day building muscles and getting that metabolism to ramp-up for longer periods. The next day I ride my bike or some other aerobic exercise (need to keep changing what you do, more on that in another post) in order to burn more calories over time (it also makes more red blood cells, which care more oxygen, which we know is used in burning carbs, fat and protein as well as helps in enzyme biosynthesis – so we can exercise longer over time and born more calories – sweet!).

Once I am in a little better shape, I like to combine the two. Sometimes this means speed walking with weights and every 10 minutes or so I do as many curls as I can. Or when riding my bike I start every mile with a sprint. You get the picture.

So, get out there and exercise – mix it up – and before you know it, the old metabolism will be working with you, not against you.

I'm taking a day off on the weigh in. But numbers will be posted tomorrow.

Keep at it and let me hear from you!

Break It Down or It's All Geek To Me

Metabolism. It is still just as important in today's post as it was in yesterday's. But today we are adding the consideration of two big .50 cent words, which (when put together) are a key to weight loss as well as a key to staying fit. They are enzyme and biosynthesis. Together they make enzyme biosynthesis.

The great news is that as speciously science-geeky as it sounds, we've already talked about some of the key parts of enzyme biosynthesis. (See now, it gets less scary every time we say it! Say it with me again, “enzyme biosythesis”).

I went out on my first bike ride in 6 months yesterday. I was moving along at about 12 mph (not blazing fast, but probably not the best speed for an overweight guy who hadn't been on a bike for 6 months). About 20 minutes in, my right calf cramped like mad. I stretch and repositioned it over and over trying to get it to stop...but, being determined, I continued to petal away. Then my left calf followed suit. They were awful by the time I made it home, but in minutes after stopping they were completely normal.

Was it lack of muscle fitness that caused my pain? Well, if it were, it probably wouldn't have stop when I stopped. My pain was caused by pushing my body too far too fast.

Back to the science-geek stuff. Metabolism is ramped up by enzyme biosynthesis. In order to make energy (a direct benefit of metabolism) your body has to breaking down molecules (carbs, fats and protiens). In order to do it, it uses enzymes (delicate little tools made by DNA from protein). That process of making enzymes is called.... (you guessed it) enzyme biosynthesis.

Why is it so important? Well, you need enzymes to break down carbs, fats and proteins. But, as I said, enzymes are both PROTIEN and DELICATE! So, it turns out that not only do they break down (as proteins), but they breakdown faster than the others (they are delicate). So, in order to build a body that burns calories well (if you weren't gifted with genes that do it for you), you have to constantly encourage your body to be in the process of enzyme biosynthesis. It is KEY to raising you metabolism.

How do you do it? Eating right and exercise (more importantly the right kinds and amounts of exercise). Which brings us back to my bike ride. My pain was caused by the build up of acid in my muscles. There's a long nerdy explanation that is really needed here which involves pyruvic acid, lactic acid, conversion of oxygen and a few other very uninteresting biological concepts, but it is sufficient to say – I over did it - and while my muscles could keep up, my lungs and heart could not, so I didn't get enough oxygen to my muscle cells. Enzymes need oxygen to do their work. Too little exercise and you don't encourage them enough to do their work – they will let you know about this by not breaking down the fat in your body and you'll find yourself buying bigger and bigger pants. Too intense of exercise and you won't be able to give them enough oxygen to do their work – they will let you know about this by sharp pain and probably a reduced ability to lose weight.

For me, my over doing it (even though I was on target with my calories and protein yesterday) meant that I seriously impeded my body's ability to burn carbs, fat and protein – all the while I was building muscle as I exercised which of course is heavier than fat. Net result, weigh in today – 263. I lost 1 lb. (of course that's the equivalent of 3500 calories, so nothing to complain about).

Tomorrow, more on the exercise\oxygen relationship – aerobic vs. anaerobic exercise. And...let me hear from you! It's easier when we are all in this together!

Kick It Up A Notch (or 2 or 3)

Depending on who you ask, the most important aspect of losing weight varies. Some say calorie control. Some will breakdown what those calories should look like in terms of fats, proteins, fiber, etc. Or some will point to portion control. Other's say exercise. Still other's might say the correct supplements are the key. I've even seen people say the best way to lose weight is to keep a journal.

In some ways, they are all right, but my experience and research suggests that each of those are results of dealing with the real key to weight loss (and keeping it off for that matter) – metabolism.

The metabolic rate of your body is the single most important element in weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight.

Any active High Schooler can tell you calories really don't matter. Their metabolic rate is ticking at such an insatiable rate that they can consume anything - and whether it is fats, proteins, or fibers, it ultimately has very little influence on their weight (their health may be another question). The same is true for adults with highly active lifestyles. Why? Because their metabolism (either by virtue of genes or lifestyle or both) is ticking away like a second hand on a stopwatch. The trick for people like me (and maybe you) is to get that metabolic rate ticking away again. The first thing to do is measure it. And there is an amazing new tool for measuring your metabolism. You may even have one – a scale.

OK, technically, it doesn't actually give you your metabolic rate, but it will tell you if your calorie intake is out pacing your body's ability to burn up those calories. You can actually find sites that help you calculate your resting metabolic rate (RMR), but I for one was never that big on math...and quite frankly – you don't need to.

Now contrary to popular wisdom on weight loss that says “don't weigh yourself everyday,” I say you should defiantly weight yourself everyday. This is the best way to get feed back on how your personal weight plan is effecting you metabolism. The trick is to understand that there will be days were you GAIN weight. If you are not psychologically prepared for this, well, my method is not for you.

By weighing in at the same time every day, on the same scale, dressed in approximately similar clothes, you will begin to get an idea if the techniques you are using to balance your metabolic rate and calorie intake are working. You don't have to do it forever, but to start things off, it sure will help to measure whether you are making choices that contribute positively or negatively to your weight program.

So, yesterday I started using some of the techniques that I have found for increasing my metabolic rate and I managed to keep my calories under 1700 with over 100 grams of protein. The last time I started losing weight I learned (by weighing in every day and paying attention to my calorie intake) that my target calories for the day was 1500 to 1800 with 100-175 grams of protein.

The results: today's weigh in (at the same time as yesterday, using the same scale and wear basically the same clothes): 268. Sounds crazy, I know, and I had to weight twice because I couldn't believe it, but those are the numbers – I lost 7 lbs on my first day. Now, there will be days, as I build more muscle and sometimes slip on my program, where I will gain weight, but the first week or so is usually good.

Tomorrow, we'll start looking at some of the things I do to get my metabolism off and running and how I try to keep it there.